The building on Broad Street in New York's Financial District that houses brokerage firm Goldman Sachs, is shown in this June 12, 2007 file photo. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007... (Associated Press)

(Newser)
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When Goldman Sachs reported $2.85 billion in third-quarter profits, it sounded like an “I told you so.” As most financials reported credit-crunch pratfalls, Goldman alone had read the signs and gone the right way on mortgages. “You’d have to give them an A-plus,” said one Merril Lynch analyst. Many wish they didn’t have to, the New York Times says.

Goldman is the Street’s most powerful firm, with an enviable global reach. Alumni pepper corporate and political power positions, fueling conspiracy theorists. Most galling: Goldman’s investment business often competes with the clients they’re advising. “They’ve managed to get their clients to live with it,” grumbled one client.